Literacy+Strategies

__Literacy Strategies__

Using context clues refers to a student’s ability to determine the meaning of words based on use and context.
 * **CONTEXT CLUES**

Encourage students to guess (or infer) the meaning of words before providing definitions. Preread selections to anticipate which words students may have difficulties with. Focus on prefixes and suffixes and their meanings will strengthen students’ abilities to determine word meaning.

From recipes to timelines to plots, many students have difficulties determining the sequence of events. Possible strategies include using sequencing charts and having students number or list events, proofs, dates, processes, etc. Students should also recognize signal words.
 * **SEQUENCING**

> Many students have difficulties understanding why events occur and that events can have consequences. Students also may especially struggle with the concept that one cause can have multiple effects, or, conversely, that many causes may bring about one lone effect. Completion of cause and effect charts is a possible strategy
 * **Cliff Notes Jr**. - Students prepare a “cheat sheet” that would be useful for having during a quiz over the day’s topic.
 * **CAUSE AND EFFECT**

Inference is the ability to gather information without it being explicitly stated. Many students have difficulty finding answers that are not written out explicitly in black and white. Encourage students to use clues and build on background knowledge to determine answers to inferential questions.
 * **INFERENCE**

The main idea is not always the first sentence in a paragraph. Students struggle with reading large chunks of text and stating the main idea in a simple statement. Students need to be able to distinguish between main idea and supporting details and identify the details that support the main idea. Summary is a brief account that contains the main points of a passage in a sequential or logical order. The use of nutshell, cloze, and gist statements are suggested strategies to strengthen summary skills. K-W-L (know - want - learn) charts (Ogle, 1986) are a great way to hook students into learning. These language charts start with the question, “What do you know about the topic?” Following this discussion, students are asked, “What do you still want to know about the topic?” Once the unit of study has been completed, the language charts are used again and students answer the third question, “What did you learn about the topic?” Ask students to write the alphabet on a sheet of notebook paper. Then, working in partners, ask them to brainstorm, before reading or listening, their background knowledge that begins with specific letters. Students can be assigned certain letters or can brainstorm ideas for the entire alphabet. After reading or listening, ask student to return to their ABC brainstorming. What can they now add? What can they verify as correct information? ABC brainstorming also works well as a pre-writing tool. Once writers have listed what they know, they can begin to focus their ideas.
 * **MAIN IDEA**
 * **SUMMARY**
 * **K-W-L**
 * **ABC Brainstorming:**


 * **Prediction Relay**: Prediction Relay is an activity that was developed as part of the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS). PALS is a classwide peer tutoring program in which teachers carefully partner a student with a classmate. The Prediction Relay strategy allows each student to (1) make predictions about the assigned text, (2) take turns reading for 5 minutes, (3) check their predictions, and (4) summarize the main points. The students provide each other with feedback as a way to monitor comprehension. http://www.adlit.org/strategies/23276/


 * ==== Power Notes: Power Notes is a strategy that teaches students an efficient form of organizing information from assigned text. This technique provides students a systematic way to look for relationships within material they are reading. Power Notes help visually display the differences between main ideas and supportive information in outline form. Main ideas or categories are assigned a power 1 rating. Details and examples are assigned power 2s, 3s, or 4s. Click the link for organizers and more information: http://www.adlit.org/strategies/22370/ ====

You divide your text into chunks, three is suggested, but use what works for the amount of text. Then students number off 1-3 and read the corresponding chunks of text, noting the main things. After silent reading, then the 1's get together, 2's, etc and each shares their main things. Then as a group of 1's, etc they decide on the 3-4 main things. Then they can either report out to the whole class as a grou p or they can get into combined groups of 1-3 and share their main things..
 * **Expert Thinking**

Solve Word Problems (can be used for other subjects)
 * A short video clip about teaching Comprehension – Readers Theater – Implementation - http://www.adlit.org/media/mediatopics/comprehension/
 * Another short video clip about teaching Comprehension by “Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions” By: Chris Tovani. A great example of modeling and guided practice. http://www.adlit.org/media/mediatopics/comprehension/
 * **RIDGES**

(1) **Read **the problem. If the problem is not understood, re-read it.
===(2) **Identify **all of the information given in the word problem. List the information separately. After listing all of the information, circle the information that is needed to solve the problem.===

(6) **Solve **the equation- The given information is plugged into the equation (i.e. 10+6+10+6=distance around the field)
===Source:Snyder, K. (1988) Ridges: A problem-solving math strategy. Academic Therapy, 230), 261-263.//http://sharepoint.chiles.leon.k12.fl.us/lcsreadingstrategies/Reading%20Strategies%20for%20Math%20Teachers/Forms/AllItems.aspx //===

===Using Math Cartoons to Support Critical Reading Skills – This strategy can be used for all content areas – just found it in a math article. One way to promote critical reading and thinking skills is through the use of cartoons. This can be done in two ways:===

Ask students to explain a cartoon, OR
===Ask students to create questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy about the cartoons. Then, allow students to ask their questions, giving other classmates an opportunity to respond to the questions they create. Then, ask students to explain the cartoon. The process of questioning and explaining helps promote high level literacy. ===

Pi in the Sky, a high school mathematics magazine, offers many cartoons that can be downloaded. The link for the magazine is listed on the Reading Portal.

 * === Literacy Strategy: KWL upgrade – KNWS ===


 * === Analytical Writing in the Content Areas By: Amy Rukea Stempel http://www.adlit.org/article/39749/ ===


 * === Reciprocal Teaching: "Definition: Reciprocal teaching refers to an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and students regarding segments of text. The dialogue is structured by the use of four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. The teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialogue.” (see attached worksheet) o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbzuycoHwts&feature=related ===

THINK-PUZZLE-EXPLORE
=== Somewhat related to K-W-L. Provide students with one or more learning targets. Allow them to select a learning target. For the identified target, record what you think you know about it in the second column. Then identify any issue related to this target about which you are curious: puzzles or questions you have about the topic. Speculate as to how you might Explore the questions identified as "puzzles". ===

What do I //think //I know about this? || PUZZLE What //puzzles //me about this topic? || EXPLORE How can we //explore //what puzzles us? ||
 * LEARNING TARGET || THINK
 * Learning Target 1 ||
 * Learning Target 2 ||